Climate averages 1991–2020
Sydney weather
in December.
A warm, moderately wet month: the 3rd warmest and the 5th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a warm month in Sydney: daytime highs average 24.2°C and nights cool to about 17.8°C. By daytime temperature it is the 3rd warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 60 mm of rain on roughly 9 days, which makes December a moderately wet month (the 5th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 14 h 21 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Central Coast (51 km away). In December its highs average 24.4°C, about as warm as Sydney, with 70 mm of rain.
Among the 32 cities listed in Australia, Sydney ranks 24th of 32 for the warmest December highs and joint 12th of 32 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 32 cities is 26.0°C; Sydney is 1.8°C cooler than that mean.
From December to January, average highs rise by 1.4°C to 25.6°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 60 mm to 73 mm.
The annual picture
December in context
Monthly rainfall
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Sydney climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25.6°C19.5°C | 19.5°C | 73 | 9.3 | 14.114 h |
| February | 25.0°C19.5°C | 19.5°C | 93 | 10.5 | 13.313 h |
| March | 23.6°C18.2°C | 18.2°C | 81 | 11.7 | 12.312 h |
| April | 21.5°C15.3°C | 15.3°C | 77 | 10.5 | 11.311 h |
| May | 18.7°C12.4°C | 12.4°C | 79 | 9.6 | 10.410 h |
| June | 16.4°C10.4°C | 10.4°C | 97 | 10.1 | 9.910 h |
| July | 15.9°C9.1°C | 9.1°C | 56 | 7.8 | 10.110 h |
| August | 17.1°C9.4°C | 9.4°C | 53 | 6.4 | 10.911 h |
| September | 19.4°C11.5°C | 11.5°C | 50 | 6.7 | 11.912 h |
| October | 21.3°C13.8°C | 13.8°C | 59 | 8.1 | 12.913 h |
| November | 22.6°C15.8°C | 15.8°C | 72 | 9.2 | 13.914 h |
| December, selected | 24.2°C17.8°C | 17.8°C | 60 | 8.7 | 14.414 h |
Rainfall is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A rain day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.
Compare places
December in nearby cities
- Central Coast in DecemberAustralia · 51 kmHigh 24.4°C · Low 18.4°C · 70 mm rain
- Wollongong in DecemberAustralia · 68 kmHigh 23.5°C · Low 17.5°C · 72 mm rain
- Blue Mountains in DecemberAustralia · 83 kmHigh 22.1°C · Low 11.0°C · 121 mm rain
- Newcastle, Australia in DecemberAustralia · 117 kmHigh 24.7°C · Low 18.6°C · 70 mm rain
- Maitland in DecemberAustralia · 130 kmHigh 27.5°C · Low 17.6°C · 71 mm rain
- Canberra in DecemberAustralia · 247 kmHigh 24.3°C · Low 12.1°C · 55 mm rain
- Tuggeranong in DecemberAustralia · 261 kmHigh 24.3°C · Low 12.1°C · 81 mm rain
- Coffs Harbour in DecemberAustralia · 436 kmHigh 25.7°C · Low 19.5°C · 150 mm rain
Read the numbers correctly
Climate, not a promise.
These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.
Sources, method and limitsHow these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Sydney) is explained once on the Sydney year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.